Friday, February 26, 2016

5 Things We've Learned About Group Blogging

Hi foodie friends! Today’s post is a little bit different than our normal recipe posts. As you may know, we recently celebrated our second year of blogging on this here blog. Over the course of two years we’ve definitely had our ups, downs and lots of learning thrown our way. No one likes group projects at school or work (we’re in that boat too), so how has it worked for us?

We’re going to share with you the five things that we’ve learned about group blogging that have helped us continue on with this project despite some of the speed bumps we’ve had along the way.

#1 Communication is key

This seems like a no brainer, but honestly, being able to communicate is a huge part of being successful as a group blog. You need to be able to talk about what’s going on, what you’re doing and how you feel. We have multiple tools that we use to communicate. Being three adults with jobs, it’s hard to always meet in person (though we strive to do this at least once a month). We’ve employed the use of Facebook Groups, iMessage and Google Hangouts video chats. Facebook is good for longer discussions, image sharing and spitballing ideas. iMessage is perfect for quick questions or a little side kiki (we’ll cover that in a minute). Google Hangouts is great for a face to face discussion when meeting in person is just not going to work out. The added bonus of Google Hangouts is that you can meet in your pjs!

#2 Bond beyond the blog

One of the key things that makes Blog to Taste work so well is that we’re all friends! We actually love spending time together. When we have meetings in person, we always set aside time to dish on the latest in our lives. Remember when I mentioned the side kiki? Yes! You need to do this. We did a blogging retreat to the coast last year and while we definitely did work on the blog, we also watched movies, took selfies, drank wine and sang karaoke at the top of our lungs. You have to KEEP. IT. FUN.

#3 Be flexible and supportive of each other

One of the truest things on our blog is that we are three humans with human things happening in our lives. For a group blog to work, you have to be flexible and understanding that life happens. I was stuck at work for days without anyway to work on a post (I was literally living in a hotel room for almost five days), I reached out and asked if anyone else would mind posting in my place. The group stepped up and a post went up despite my absence. We’ve each experienced loss, new jobs, school and all those other complications that would make you want to give up, but having the group behind you drives you to continue working on something that you enjoy.

#4 Align your goals and expectations

This one is huge! We’re always talking about our goals and expectations of the blog. As we’ve gone into our third year, we’re definitely looking more at setting what we want to see in the next year. We want to make sure that we’re all in the same place. Some of the other lessons help with this: communication, keep it fun and be supportive.

#5 Blogging is a community

This rule goes for all bloggers. When we first started blogging we didn’t know what we were doing, but we definitely thought we could go it alone. We soon learned though that there’s a huge community out there, including one pretty groovy one right here in Portland. Being part of larger blogger communities has given us more than we could have ever imagined. We gained so many tips and tricks, inspiration and camaraderie.

What have you learned while running your blog? Do you have a group blog that we could learn things from?